Whether you’re recruiting several people for a team, or a single new hire; recruiting goes beyond posting a job ad and conducting interviews. It requires accessing the right resources and tools, writing appropriate job ads, considering a wide variety of candidates and experience, and proper on-boarding for solid employee retention.
Start the process by accessing your internal resources and network. Post the job internally to start and then expand to external ads. Make it clear to current employees that referrals are welcome so they can recommend candidates who have already passed the first bar. Employees are unlikely to damage their own reputation by putting forth unqualified candidates, and most likely have selected someone who is a good fit for the office environment, style of work, culture, etc. The candidates have also been given an idea of what to expect and is expected of them.
When writing your job ad, be specific. Broad and generalized ads will attract broad and generalized applications. You want to cull an onslaught of candidates who are taking a chance applying because they’re not quite sure if they qualify or not. Be clear about prerequisites, must-haves, and nice-to-haves, and mention the kind of personalities that would be the best fit. Also, make sure your application process is simple and streamlined. Allow candidates to upload a cover letter and resume they’ve spent hours designing and formatting instead of filling out a form with the same details for a long time. If the process is too tedious or clueless, great candidates will move on. They’re professional and highly skilled, while this online portal is a mess.
Don’t only consider extremely experienced candidates. You want variety and a diversity of minds and talents on your team. Experienced people can sometimes get stuck in their ways, and think that their expertise is solid, which can create stubbornness and narrowmindedness. Fresh talents can come to the table with new perspectives and ideas, especially if they’re of a younger generation than the rest of the team. However, you don’t want to go too naïve or green and end up with an underqualified hire who can’t be properly trained, either. Consider all types of transferrable experience and education. Surprisingly, many companies think hiring unpaid interns is a wise choice to save money, but you’ll miss out on a lot of talented people who won’t apply because they need money to live!
It’s also important to use the right HR tools when recruiting and on-boarding. Cloud-based business management software from IWI Consulting Group offers flexible, customizable enterprise resource planning systems that integrate smart HR functionalities. Sage 300cloud, for example, assists with unique human resources challenges beyond recruiting, like payroll, benefits, employee tools, data and analytics. ERP software can also integrate the rest of your company’s departments into one system, and with cloud capabilities, real time information can be accessed from anywhere there is Wi-Fi. Increase efficiency, productivity, assess risks, and bolster financials, distribution, sales, HR, and more.
Finally, recruiting doesn’t stop at having hired someone. New recruits at all experience and skill levels need to be properly trained, welcomed, and integrated into the company’s operations and culture. Checking in on fresh employees to make sure everything is going well and arranging occasional meetings to connect can prevent new hires from abandoning ship when they feel overwhelmed.
